They are three very different personalities. But put Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez together and they become one.

They form what might be the best receiving trio in the NFL.

“The big thing is that none of us are selfish,’’ Jones said in a telephone interview Thursday. “We all want to see each other go out and make big plays because the most important thing is that we want to win.’’

That might sound a little unusual coming from a wide receiver because history has shown that wide receivers often have diva personalities (think Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson and Steve Smith to name just a few). Those traits also can carry over to tight ends.

I remember days when I covered the Carolina Panthers and they’d win a game but tight end Wesley Walls would be unhappy because he didn’t think he had enough passes thrown his way.

But the amazing thing in Atlanta is that Jones, White and Gonzalez now have been together for three full seasons and there never has been a complaint about the distribution of the ball. White and Jones are the wide receivers and Gonzalez is the tight end. But, at various times, they all have been quarterback Matt Ryan's favorite target.

White and Jones combined for 2,549 receiving yards this season, the most by any wide receiver tandem in the league. Gonzalez had 93 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.

When all three of them have been on the field at the same time, Ryan has averaged an interception once in every 52.2 passes, according to ESPN Stats & Information. When the entire trio hasn’t been on the field at the same time, Ryan has averaged an interception once in every 21.3 passes.

“We just take what a defense gives us,’’ Jones said. “If they’re doubling Roddy or me, it’s going to leave Tony open. If Tony’s doubled, Roddy and I will be open. We’ll just take what’s there.’’

Jones said the chemistry among the three has come naturally. Jones is the quiet one, White can be outspoken -- especially on Twitter -- and Gonzalez is the wise elder statesman. But their personalities have meshed nicely.

“I was very lucky to get drafted into the situation I came into,’’ Jones said. “I could have gone somewhere where other guys would resent me because they want the ball. But Roddy and Tony took me under their wings right from the start.’’

Jones entered the league under unusual circumstances. He was drafted during the 2011 lockout and he still was recovering from a college injury. But he showed up at players-only workouts and instantly formed a bond with White and Gonzalez.’’

“We’d go to the workouts, but we’d also go to the movies or just hang out to get to know each other,’’ Jones said. “It was that way in the beginning and it still is that way now.’’

Jones said he and Gonzalez hit the practice field early every day and caught 50 to 100 passes before practice even started. From White, Jones said he’s learned a lot about body control and movement.

“I think the biggest thing both of those guys have taught me is that you don’t have to try to be Superman,’’ Jones said. “You just go out and do your job and you’re going to get your share of passes.’’

That formula is working quite nicely. The Falcons don’t need a solitary Superman because they’ve got three super options in their passing game.

After watching what Jones did in the first half, and how we totally went away from that in the 2nd half, you guys might be right about Jones. How you go away from that in the 2nd half, I don't know. Mike Smith is great at keeping us guessing... Guessing why the Falcons will be sitting at home during the Superbowl.

Our two turnovers came in the second half..... They had 1 we had 2. Their opening drives in the second half really started the second half badly for us just like our first drive seemed to set Frisco back in the first half.

I really think their defense is a lot better than ours. We about have to make perfect plays on offense while their receivers are consistently wide open?

We did make some great plays while they generally walked into the end zone.

What are you talking about, perfect plays on offense? We destroyed them on offense in the first half. We got conservative in the 2nd half, yet again, and tried to march the ball down the field on long drives to kill time. Score points -> win game. Mike Smith doesn't do that in the 2nd half of playoff games for some reason. He wants to keep the ball away from their offense for as long as possible. We should have won this game 50-35. Mike Smith doesn't know how to put teams away. He spends too much time trying to protect the defense.

What are you talking about, perfect plays on offense? We destroyed them on offense in the first half. We got conservative in the 2nd half, yet again, and tried to march the ball down the field on long drives to kill time. Score points -> win game. Mike Smith doesn't do that in the 2nd half of playoff games for some reason. He wants to keep the ball away from their offense for as long as possible. We should have won this game 50-35. Mike Smith doesn't know how to put teams away. He spends too much time trying to protect the defense.

What are you talking about, perfect plays on offense? We destroyed them on offense in the first half. We got conservative in the 2nd half, yet again, and tried to march the ball down the field on long drives to kill time. Score points -> win game. Mike Smith doesn't do that in the 2nd half of playoff games for some reason. He wants to keep the ball away from their offense for as long as possible. We should have won this game 50-35. Mike Smith doesn't know how to put teams away. He spends too much time trying to protect the defense.

How about actually giving credit to the 49ers having a top 5 defense?

Did you watch the 2nd half? Did you watch the last drive? We stopped being aggressive. We were trying to run out the clock on the last drive. (down by 4) The 49ers are a good team. We had them on their heels. Even with the turnovers, we were driving the ball. The thing missing in the 2nd half was the big play. Even 49ers fans said on the AFMB, "If you guys had kept throwing, you would have scored at least 14 more points and the game would have been over."

We have the best receiving corps in the NFL, and one of the best QBs in the NFL, and we refuse to let them play. God forbid we put up 40 points in a game.

Robt, go back and look at the catches our WRs were making and compare them to catches the 49ers WRs were making. It is a game of inches versus a game of yards. And, since you're firing Smith, pray tell who you hire to take his place? Goofy....

Firing this off without giving it too much thought, but John Gruden. He has proven that he knows how to win football games decisively. The problem with Mike Smith is that he spends too much time protecting the defense, playing not to lose. Gruden was known to run up the score. That's what we need. Put the game out of reach so that the opponent can't get back into it. With the talent that we have on offense, we could have done that each of the last two weeks, but we did not.

Now, Gruden is just the first person that I think of off the top of my head. There are probably several coaches that could step in with the roster that we have, and be at least as good as Smith has been, if not better. You have to understand that we are LOADED on offense. My mom could draw up an effective offense with the personnel that we have. The problem isn't the offense, it's the strategy that we employ during the course of a game. You have all seen it all season long... We don't play to win, we play to keep it close. We need a coach that coaches to win.

I could be wrong... But I can't recall a team in the history of the NFL that was good or borderline title team that switched coaches and improved to the top. The most recent example I can think of is the Chargers and that was a complete disaster.

If the Falcons where prepared for an extensive retool or a complete rebuild then sure look at a new head coach. But, you simply don't switch head coaches at this stage of a teams maturity... Especially now that you have two well established coordinators running the show that are damn good at that.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Falcons have a deal in place with Nolan that will eventually have him ascend to the Head Coach position if they aren't please with Smith at the end of his contract. But for now, you play the same hand and improve the roster.

This is where Gruden's name always comes up for replacing Dungy in TB and winning a SB with his team but, yeah, it doesn't happen much and in retrospect I don't think it was a good move there either. I guess a case could be made for Dungy replacing Mora in Indy being a little similar though the Colts were not in conference title games before him. Fans seem to define coaches by what they see in games whereas in reality this is such a small part of their jobs. It is what it is. Smith will have to go on a marked decline to get axed like Brian Billick in BALT.

Listen, there's a specific reason that I'm targetting Smith here... The last two weeks, the Falcons had considerable leads, but the team went into conservative mode in the 2nd half and played not to lose. I guarantee that if the Falcons came out in the 2nd half they way that they came out in the 1st half, we would have won both games easily.

Something is happening at half time, and it's not that our depth is getting worse. It's not that our players are getting tired. It's not that suddenly guys are no longer able to perform. If you watch the play calling in the 2nd half vs the 1st half, you can see that the game plan goes out the window in favor of protecting the lead. This is a Mike Smith staple.

Look at our games all season long... We had a highly potent offense, capable of putting up 40 points on a consistent basis... But we didn't see that all year. We saw our team get out to early leads, and then coast... ALL YEAR. If it had just been the last two playoff games, I could dismiss it as an anomaly. But it was the whole season, and the previous season, and the one before that. Mike Smith wants his offense to protect the defense by playing ball control. This gives defenses a HUGE advantage over us. We are literally taking away our own ability to keep the defense guessing by forcing ourselves into a prevent offense.

Even if I'm wrong about this... How do you explain the 2nd half performance of this team over the past two playoff games, the regular season, and the previous years? At the end of the day, the answer has to be coaching.

What are you talking about, perfect plays on offense? We destroyed them on offense in the first half. We got conservative in the 2nd half, yet again, and tried to march the ball down the field on long drives to kill time. Score points -> win game. Mike Smith doesn't do that in the 2nd half of playoff games for some reason. He wants to keep the ball away from their offense for as long as possible. We should have won this game 50-35. Mike Smith doesn't know how to put teams away. He spends too much time trying to protect the defense.

Our 2nd half D was putrid, no doubt.

But on offense, they kept throwing. In fact, on that last drive, if HD doesn't trip for no reason, that's a walk in 60 yard TD pass. Ryan still had 120 yard passing against a top 5 D in the 2nd half. The problem was silly turnovers and a D that can't stop the run and pass at the same time (LBs either play super shallow or super deep).

I understand your point, but think 3 to 4 critical mistakes kept this from being a 42-28 win by the Falcons. Ryan turning the ball over (unforced) twice on the other side of the 50 is just weird.

Even if I'm wrong about this... How do you explain the 2nd half performance of this team over the past two playoff games, the regular season, and the previous years? At the end of the day, the answer has to be coaching.

This isn't my answer but it was answered this way on the NFL network.

NFL NETWORK SAID

Quote:

Matt Ryan may be the best first half Qb in the league; and the worst second half Qb in the league too.

Ryan's turnovers in the second half of both games can't be over looked. It doesn't mean I want to trade him, s*** happens, but turnovers can't be blamed on coaches.......

The fumble was completely Ryan's fault. One mistake on a 400 yard, 3 TD day isn't what cost us the game.

The game was not decided on one or two plays. If either of those drives had ended in a field goal, it is a different game, but it's not a guaranteed win. Especially not with us running out the clock on our second to last possession. Think about it, if we hadn't tried to run out the clock, we would have had more than 6 seconds to do something with the ball on our last drive. If we hadn't tried to run out the clock, we could have settled for a field goal and still had another opportunity to win the game.

Our approach to the second half of the game is what cost us the game. I know that you don't believe that, but all you have to do is look at the past to see that what I'm talking about has consistently plagued us under Mike Smith.

Our approach to the second half of the game is what cost us the game. I know that you don't believe that, but all you have to do is look at the past to see that what I'm talking about has consistently plagued us under Mike Smith.

I have looked to the past and we've only been to the Championship game 3 times; andonly won it once. (In 50 years) We might have done better if Frisco didn't have the ball about 12 minutes in the 3rd quarter. So it was not our approach, it was Frisco's good play.

Damn this was a tight competitive game, I wish Matt Ryan had played good for 4 quarters; yes that mistake of the fumble cost us points; and the game by the way you look at things, but without Ryan we wouldn't have made it this far.

Now the last two playoff games in the previous years we were not competitive; if we had not even been competitive against Seattle, then you'd at least have an argument.

We were the No. 1 seed, and beat Seattle !! We are ten yards from winning Sunday, but we lost so you want to fire our winningest coach in history.??

Ok I'll do what everyone else has done and quit responding to your Bs; and go back to my reality and let you continue in yours!!

The reason why you run out the clock is because for the final 40 minutes of that game, the Falcons D did not stop the 49ers once. So you're saying, the smart strategy is to try and and score as quickly as possible, giving the 49ers what 5 minutes to milk the clock. Given how our run D had performed all game, there's absolutely no way a competent coach thinks that San Fran gets the ball back up 28-27 and doesn't run out the clock.

Again, your saying not making that decision makes Smitty a bad coach. And it's ironic because that is possibly one of hte worst coaching decisions I've ever heard of.

The Falcons made the absolutely right decision to try and milk the clock down to as little as possible with the intent of scoring a TD. Then if there's only a minute left, then you are forcing SF to try and to move down the entire field to get into FG range just to send it into OT.

I'm sorry, for 85% of stuff we agree. But what you consider to be "good coaching" is some of the worst coaching I've ever heard of.

Shhhhhh, Pudge. You are destroying the narrative. Smitty is too conservative and that is why we have not been in the SB yet. Matt was clearly rebelling by throwing that deep sideline INT into double coverage versus Seattle that got them back into the game. He knew that by doing this it would get a fire under Smitty's ass.

As far as game strategy goes at the end, had we executed it would have been close to perfect. If we had had a more viable run threat I think we might have gotten it done. Woulda coulda shoulda.

We have heard here that had we not had the 31 ticks and won versus Seattle that Smith would have been fired. While I find that unlikely it is not impossible. It is, however, pretty damned illiogical. You're going to decide his fate on the way things went in a 31 second span after he has coached for five years? If you have seen enough that you feel he should be fired then these few seconds should be immaterial. Otherwise, we are back to the days of Stankin Rankin and the ready, fire, aim style of ownership.

My argument carries weight because our offense did nothing in the 2nd half either. Sure, our defense couldn't get a stop, but at the same time, our offense couldn't score. Our offense couldn't score because we got conservative. That last drive was a model of conservatism. Hell, we ran the ball on 1st down inside the 20. We wasted a down, wasted time on the clock, and made it harder for Ryan to do what he needed to do.

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